Orland Park's Plan Commission this week approved a special-use permit for Cafe Cue, a cafe and billiard hall. The proposed establishment would occupy a 7,500-square-foot facility in the Sunrise Shopping Center at 15635 S. 94th Ave. Because of concerns about traffic and noise, the commissioners are recommending a six-month probation for the business to remain open until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. The cafe would offer gourmet...

EVERGREEN PARK Water, sewer fees expected to rise Residents will pay more for water and sewers because of a 15 percent increase in rates Chicago charges for service. Water rates will rise from $4.09 to $4.81 per thousand gallons of water after the Village Board this week unanimously approved the increase as of Jan. 1. Sewer rates will increase from $1.15 to $1.40 per thousand gallons of water. Chicago's water and sewer rates increased by 15 percent in 2008 and are expected to increase...

David Sill, one of the owners of Club Storm, also known as Billiard Street in Lake in the Hills, will have to find a new way to entertain his teenage clients. The Lake in the Hills Zoning Board on Tuesday night turned down Sill's request for a special-use designation as a billiard hall and dance club. He is currently licensed as only a game room. Even so, Sill maintained he was licensed by the village as a billiard parlor in January and then found his...

After reading our recent Ask At Play column with advice for bachelorette party alternatives, reader Michael Chen of Lockport called to ask about some ideas for a bachelor party he is organizing this summer. Chen, a golf pro, is the best man for a pal who is a professional umpire and he says that most guys coming are also sporty in one way or another. His current plans are to hit whatever baseball game is in town, then move on to ESPN Zone for dinner and then end the night on Rush Street--or even...

Oakbrook Terrace City Atty. Jack Garrity will meet with representatives of Preacher's billiard hall to discuss restrictions that could be required if a Class H liquor license were issued and the facility turned into a private club. Council members have said that if a liquor license were issued for a private club, they do not want the owners to revert to the current public billiard hall at 22nd Street and Summit Avenue in the JRC Plaza. A Class H license is for private clubs, and Class A is...

The flyer for G-Cue Billiards, one of the city's newest billiard halls, boasted of an "Upscale Sports Bar & Restaurant." "Neat," I thought, "I'll go there!" The problem is that despite its advertising, the West Loop hall--which opened last month--is not posh. And it seems especially odd that the location's management would label the place a sports bar--there are only two TVs on its main floor. In truth, G-Cue's classy veneer (best seen in a drinks menu boasting of...

A Palos Hills billiard hall will remain shuttered after city officials this week upheld a decision to revoke its license to operate. Under a city ordinance that forbids illegal activity in local businesses, Mayor Gerald Bennett revoked the license to operate of Palos Billiards, 7205 W. 103rd St., in mid-March after a woman running the store was charged with delivery of marijuana. An attorney for the billiard hall requested a hearing before the City Council to reconsider Bennett's...

The Wheaton City Council this week unanimously rejected both a zoning change and a special-use permit that would have allowed an alcohol-free billiard hall to operate downtown. Business owner Lorena Valencia of Stone Park had proposed the 15-table "billiard cafe" for the long-vacant second floor of the city's former fire station at 315 W. Front St., just above the Gino's East pizzeria. For seven years, Valencia and her family had operated a similar business in Naperville called Hot Shots.

The Village Board directed its staff Tuesday night to develop an ordinance that would address worries about billiard halls in the community. The action apparently responds to a building permit application filed by Crazy Eights Billiards to open a billiard hall in the Meadowdale Shopping Center on Illinois Highway 25. The proposed ordinance could ban alcohol in billiard parlors. It also could set hours of operation, regulate the number of billiard tables and require private security on the...

The Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board has narrowly recommended that the City Council approve plans for a youth-oriented billiard hall on West Front Street above a pizzeria in the city's former firehouse. Lorena Valencia of Aurora and her family ran Hot Shots, a now-closed, alcohol-free pool hall, in Naperville. They hope to bring the same concept to the second floor of the old firehouse, which has been vacant since the first floor was converted to Gino's East in 2001. The...

The Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board has narrowly recommended that the City Council approve plans for a youth-oriented billiard hall on West Front Street above a pizzeria in the city's former firehouse. Lorena Valencia of Aurora and her family ran Hot Shots, a now-closed, alcohol-free pool hall, in Naperville. They hope to bring the same concept to the second floor of the old firehouse, which has been vacant since the first floor was converted to Gino's East in 2001. The...

The Dakota. The name was borrowed from one of New York City's fashionable residences, but the location of this new condominium is strictly Chicago. Planned for 56 units, the six-story building at 3631 N. Halsted St. in the city's Lake View neighborhood is a joint project of Greif Properties and the Drake Group. Groundbreaking for the Dakota is scheduled for July, with first move-ins in June 2001, according to Richard Asch, principal of Keller Williams Cardinal...

An attempt to increase the number of beer and liquor licenses to six from five in Oakbrook Terrace failed again this week. Dennis Riordan, manager of Preacher's billard hall, had requested the increase so he could get the new license. The billiard hall is a plaza north of 22nd Street and east of Midwest Road. Until recently there had been six licenses available in the city; one of them was unused and Riordan was pursuing it. But neighbors opposed a license for Preacher's, claiming...

The Fox Lake Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals is close to granting Grayslake resident Kasimierz Hreczuch permission for a billiards and sports bar at the corner of Grand Avenue and Rollins Road. Approval is contingent on Hreczuch, the owner and operator, agreeing to put in writing the promises he and prospective general manager Ron Piotrowski made during a public hearing last week. Those included requiring all minors to be accompanied by a parent or guardian in order to enter; not...

A proposal to have a bar that would offer rock bands and deejays twice a month is drawing fire from Lemont Park District officials who say the bar would be too close to a recreation center. The owners of the proposed Baracuda Club, who addressed the Liquor Commission, hope to set up shop in the Lemont Plaza Shopping Center, 1134 State St. The bar would replace a billiard hall. Robert Porter, director of parks and recreation, said residents have contacted him with concerns about...

A Palos Hills billiard hall will remain shuttered after city officials this week upheld a decision to revoke its license to operate. Under a city ordinance that forbids illegal activity in local businesses, Mayor Gerald Bennett revoked the license to operate of Palos Billiards, 7205 W. 103rd St., in mid-March after a woman running the store was charged with delivery of marijuana. An attorney for the billiard hall requested a hearing before the City Council to reconsider Bennett's...

EVERGREEN PARK Water, sewer fees expected to rise Residents will pay more for water and sewers because of a 15 percent increase in rates Chicago charges for service. Water rates will rise from $4.09 to $4.81 per thousand gallons of water after the Village Board this week unanimously approved the increase as of Jan. 1. Sewer rates will increase from $1.15 to $1.40 per thousand gallons of water. Chicago's water and sewer rates increased by 15 percent in 2008 and are expected to increase...

Orland Park's Plan Commission this week approved a special-use permit for Cafe Cue, a cafe and billiard hall. The proposed establishment would occupy a 7,500-square-foot facility in the Sunrise Shopping Center at 15635 S. 94th Ave. Because of concerns about traffic and noise, the commissioners are recommending a six-month probation for the business to remain open until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. The cafe would offer gourmet...

The Wheaton City Council this week unanimously rejected both a zoning change and a special-use permit that would have allowed an alcohol-free billiard hall to operate downtown. Business owner Lorena Valencia of Stone Park had proposed the 15-table "billiard cafe" for the long-vacant second floor of the city's former fire station at 315 W. Front St., just above the Gino's East pizzeria. For seven years, Valencia and her family had operated a similar business in Naperville called Hot Shots.

David Sill, one of the owners of Club Storm, also known as Billiard Street in Lake in the Hills, will have to find a new way to entertain his teenage clients. The Lake in the Hills Zoning Board on Tuesday night turned down Sill's request for a special-use designation as a billiard hall and dance club. He is currently licensed as only a game room. Even so, Sill maintained he was licensed by the village as a billiard parlor in January and then found his...